Quick pic of my sister and I at Adelaide's Central Market a few weeks ago when I was home. Cathy is my big sister and has always looked out for me. This included letting me play with her and her friends, and sharing her twisties at the Magic Cave when I spilt mine on the floor. Unfortunately because she was always smaller than me growing up, I would get the blame when we were fighting because she would cry first. Now though we play nicely and she still looks out for me.
Hi all - just letting you know that Lisa's Mum has migrated to the new Ride Happy site and today presents her new column, What Would Cipo Do? She is getting restless... please write to her so she can stop rearranging the furniture and ironing underwear.
Ride happy
Mario Cipollini was an Adonis even before Adonis was an Adonis. He bought so many tickets on himself that they sold out and he had to put on an extra show. He was a great sprinter (just ask him) and won 191 races as professional between 1989 and 2005, including the world champs title in 2002. Cipo would typically prepare for big races in the discotheque and declared that, 'If I weren't a professional cyclist, I'd be a porn star.' Ever the diplomat, Cipo would refuse to ride the mountain stages of the Tour or Vuelta and instead release photos of himself lounging around in deck chairs at the beach while his compatriots turned themselves inside out in the mountains. He also got arrested in 2002 for motorpacing on an Italian autostrada (average driver speed 150kph), and in his defence claimed that the autostrada was the only place where he could safely maintain the speed his glorious legs demanded.
Cipo's flamboyance also led to some dubious skinsuit choices:
Incidentally, it is good to see that Cipo abides by Lisa's Mum's rules of cycling fashion, which dictate that if you are extremely good at riding and can beat anyone over any distance, on any terrain, then you can wear what you like.
Given Cipo's credentials, it is fitting that Lisa's Mum's new column 'What Would Cipo Do?' is devoted to the aspirational Super Marios among her readership. If you have a conundrum that requires the wisdom of Lisa's Mum and the spectacular manliness of Cipo, please direct it to her either by commenting below, or by email at jacobs.lisa@gmail.com. We will consider them carefully in the context of what the Lion King himself would do.
Today my mate Marcus sent me a link to a video featuring THE BEST BIKE SKILLS I HAVE EVER SEEN. It's pretty short - around 6 minutes.* I couldn't get the video to embed here, so here is a similar one below. But I really recommend just clicking on the link above because it will blow you away... especially considering the riders are a couple of chicks! And junior chicks at that. *If you are a lawyer this amounts to 1 billable unit. Code it under Client Development and put Lisa's Mum in the narrative. I dare you.
Happy Friday! I saw this yesterday on my way home and it made me laugh so hard I had to share it. Hope you enjoy it too (whether you are a child of the 80s or not!).
Don't forget to check out http://www.ridehappy.com.au/ - the new home of Ride Happy.
Cheers
The challenge faced by the modern hipster is how to combine their two loves of (1) minimalism and (2) new stuff.
Other challenges include:
The answer to all these things is the FIXIE.
According to Wikipedia, the fixie (or fixed-gear bike) was invented by a dental surgeon named Walter Birmingham who was three weeks behind in his mortgage repayments. An entrepreneur at heart, Birmingham needed to find new ways of building his business and getting more customers through the door. Birmingham's first prototype was intended for use exclusively by bike couriers, but it was a business failure as bike couriers tended either to be too skilful to crash, or too poor to afford dental surgeons. A subsequent market repositioning of the fixie amongst inner city dwelling, pop-up bar frequenting, facial hair styling 18-35 year olds was a runaway success. Unfortunately, Birmingham's invention also contributed to his divorce from his wife Iris, who manufactured bicycle brake parts.
Hold onto your hats, readers - Ride Happy is evolving and now has a new website! The place to be is http://www.ridehappy.com.au/. Be a cool kid and save it to your Favourites like Lisa's Mum would do.
This blog will still be around for a while but all the good stuff will be on the website. A HUGE thanks to Niki Fisher who designed Ride Happy's awesome new logo!
Ride happy
Welcome to Ride Happy! This is a first post and a touch experimental, so please forgive me for newness.
Ride Happy started as a blog charting my cycling exploits, on and off the bike.
This is me.
Last year, I spent a season in Europe on the Australian national team. It was awesome.
She made it clear that she was from Ride Happy and had come to help. She also knew Lisa's Mum and indicated that the two of them were now in charge.
She didn't give me her name so I've got to find one for her. Please leave a comment if you have any ideas.
Ride happy
PS: A HUGE thanks to Niki Fisher who created the new Ride Happy logo! I didn't think it was possible to capture the essence of Ride Happy in a character but she's nailed it.
...you can see the bottom of your coffee cup.
Last night I went to Pilates for the first time in a few weeks. I've been in Adelaide and I've found it hard to find to find anywhere as good as Perfect Pilates in Melbourne. So it was good to be back on the mat again.
1 June marks the start of winter and the start of Get Buff month. Get Buff month (also known as Get Ripped Month, Get Massive Month or Fatty Begone Month) was established in 2008 with an old training partner of mine as we were both recovering from various injuries and happily coincided with the discovery of a $4 gym in our neighborhood. It was a good way to bring some fresh motivation into a pretty cold and wet Winter.
Now, each Winter, athletes around the world celebrate Get Buff Month with the purchase of new bike lights and winter gloves. The month starts with the historic 'Unveiling of the Winter Doona' and 'Festival of the Higher Heating Bills'. Ceremonial robes (generally made of gortex) and waterproof booties are worn and cement smoothies are enjoyed by all to harden up and get out there.
I've seen a few people already preparing for Get Buff Month... If you aren't one of them yet, get on board! There's no better way to feel better in the winter.
Ok, enough talk from me. I'm off to hot the VIS gym. Either I'm getting old, or just more in tune with my body, but I'm really finding a benefit from doing more strength work off the bike.
Ride happy
Just a very quick post to say have a great weekend, whatever you are up to. Stay safe on the roads, be predictable and smooth in the bunch, and remember to smile at your barista in the cafe afterwards!
As it's Friday, it's only fitting to end the week with a joke. Not very cycling-related, I know, but it made me laugh.
The CIA had an opening for an assassin. After all of the background checks, interviews, and testing were done there were three finalists... Two men and a woman.
For the final test, the CIA agents took one of the men to a large metal door and handed him a gun.
"We must know that you will follow your instructions, no matter what the circumstances.
In side of this room, you will find your wife sitting in a chair. Kill Her!!!"
The man said, "You can't be serious. I could never shoot my wife."
The agent said, "Then you're not the right man for this job."
The second man was given the same instructions. He took the gun and went into the room. All was quiet for about five minutes. Then the man came out
with tears in his eyes." I tried, but I can't kill my wife."
The agent said, "You don't have what it takes. Take your wife and go home."
Finally, it was the woman's turn. She was given the same instructions to kill her husband.
She took the gun and went into the room. Shots were heard, one shot after another. They heard screaming, crashing, banging on the walls.
After a few minutes, all was quiet. The door opened slowly and there stood the woman.
She wiped the sweat from her brow, and said, "This gun is loaded with blanks. I had to beat him to death with the chair."
Ride happy
Read more: http://www.ajokeaday.com/Clasificacion.asp?ID=58#ixzz1MrqqZlWP
